Leafs stay alive, Jets season ends, Canucks squander opportunity

It was a busy night of NHL playoff action on Tuesday.

There were four games total, all with the potential to be elimination games, and Canadian teams were involved in three of the four.

Two of the series did end, with the Carolina Hurricanes disposing of the New York Islanders and the Colorado Avalanche knocking out the Winnipeg Jets.

As a result, the first second-round series is now locked in, as the Canes will take on the New York Rangers in a heavyweight battle beginning next week.

ROUND WON 😤 pic.twitter.com/fc1kmoAGJH

— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) May 1, 2024

However, the Toronto Maple Leafs and Nashville Predators both stayed alive with gritty road wins against the Boston Bruins and Vancouver Canucks to extend those series to at least six games.

In Boston, the Leafs opened the scoring early in the first, but Trent Frederic tied the game later in the period and that’s the way the scoreboard stayed until overtime.

After some clutch saves by Joseph Woll, who was making his first start of the playoffs for the Leafs, Matthew Knies ended up banging home a loose puck to give Toronto the win.

MATTHEW KNIES HOW DO YOU DO!!!! pic.twitter.com/tzb4wXChdH

— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) May 1, 2024

The series now shifts back to Toronto for game six on Thursday, and a Leafs win would mean it would all be decided in game seven on Hockey Night in Canada Saturday night.

In Vancouver, it was another tight-checking, low-scoring game that went into the final 20 minutes without a goal being scored.

Nikita Zadorov broke the scoreless draw with his second of the playoffs, but the Preds stormed back with two goals in the final 13 minutes of play to win the game and extend the series.

Game six goes Friday night in Nashville, with winner-takes-all game seven scheduled for Sunday if the Preds can get their first win on home ice in game six.

The #Canucks had a strong start to game five, but the Predators clamped down in a must-win game to win 2-1.

READ | https://t.co/8gmhMqRccB

— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) May 1, 2024

Colorado’s dominance continued in Winnipeg on Tuesday night, as the team has done nothing but score goals all series long.

While their six goals in game one somehow weren’t enough to win, they’ve scored five or more in each game since and that included a 6-3 series-clinching victory in game five.

Valeri Nichushkin, Yakov Trenin, Artturi Lehkonen and Josh Manson all scored for the Avs, while Mikko Rantanen added two big third period goals to help the 2022 Stanley Cup champions advance.

🤝 @Avalanche pic.twitter.com/a5UeFRW6Nh

— Winnipeg Jets (@NHLJets) May 1, 2024

There are two games on tap tonight, as the Dallas Stars and Vegas Golden Knights return to Texas with the series deadlocked at two.

So far, the road team has won all four games of the series and the Stars will be looking to buck that trend and take a 3-2 advantage into Vegas on Friday.

In Edmonton, the Oilers will have a chance to close out their first series against the Los Angeles Kings with a win on home ice.

If the Kings can find a way to win, that series will shift back to Hollywood for game six on Friday.

_{Thumbnail photo courtesy of Toronto Maple Leafs on X.}